Aretaeus ('Αρεταιος), one of the most cele­brated of the ancient Greek physicians, of whose life, however, no particulars are known. There is some uncertainty respecting both his age and coun­try; but it seems probable that he practised in the first century after Christ, in the reign of Nero or Vespasian, and he is generally styled "the Cappadocian" (Καππαδοξ). Physician examining a child The word physician should not be confused with physicist, which means a scientist in the area of physics. ... This page is about the title, for the Christian figure, see Jesus Christ is the English representation of the Greek word Χριστός (transliterated as Khristós), which means anointed. ... Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (December 15, 37–June 9, 68), born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called (50–54) Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and last Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. ... Vespasian sestertius, struck in 71 to celebrate the victory in the Jewish Rebellion. ...

He wrote in Ionic Greek a general treatise on diseases, which is still extant, and is certainly one of the most valuable reliques of antiquity, displaying great accuracy in the detail of symptoms, and in seising the diagnostic character of diseases. In his practice he followed for the most part the method of Hippocrates, but he paid less attention to what have been styled "the natural actions" of the system; and, contrary to the practice of the Father of Medicine, he did not hesitate to attempt to counteract them, when they appeared to him to be injurious. Ionic Greek was a sub-dialect of the Attic-Ionic dialectal group of Ancient Greek (see Greek dialects). ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ... Hippocrates: a conventionalized image in a Roman portrait bust (19th century engraving) Hippocrates of Cos (c. ...

The account which he gives of his treatment of various diseases indicates a simple and sagacious system, and one of more energy than that of the professed Methodici. Thus he freely administered active purgatives; he did not object to narcotics; he was much less averse to bleeding; and upon the whole his Materia Medica was both ample and efficient. It may be asserted generally that there are few of the ancient physicians, since the time of Hippocrates, who appear to have been less biased by attachment to any peculiar set of opinions, and whose account of the phenomena and treatment of disease has better stood the test of subsequent experience. Aretaeus is placed by some writers among the Pneumatici because he main­tained the doctrines which are peculiar to this sect; other systematic writers, however, think hat he is better entitled to be placed with the Eclectics. A laxative is a preparation used for the purpose of encouraging defecation, or the elimination of feces. ... The term narcotic, derived from the Greek word for stupor, originally referred to a variety of substances that induced sleep (such state is narcosis). ... Bloodletting (or blood-letting, in modern medicine referred to as phlebotomy) was a popular medical practice from antiquity up to the late 19th century, involving the withdrawal of often considerable quantities of blood from a patient in the belief that this would cure or prevent illness and disease. ...

His work consists of eight book, of which four are entitled Περι Αιτιων και Σημειων Οξεων και Χρονιων, De Causis et Signis Acutorum et Diuturnorum Morborum and the other four, Περι Θεραπειας Οξεων και Χρονιων Παθων De Curatione Acutorum Diuturnorum Morborum. They are in a tolerably complete state of preservation, though a few chapters are lost.

The work was first published in a Latin translation by JP Crassus, Venet. 1552, 4to., together with Rufus Ephesius. The first Greek edition is that by J Goupylus, Paris, 1554, 4to., which is more complete than the Latin version of Crassus. In 1723 a magnificent edition in folio was published at the Clarendon press at Oxford, edited by J Wigan, containing an improved text, a new Latin version, learned dissertations and notes, and a copious index by Maittaire. Events February 16 - Louis XV of France attains his majority Births February 24 - John Burgoyne, British general (d. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

In 1731, the celebrated Boerhaave brought out a new edition, of which the text and Latin version had been printed before the appearance of Wigan's and are of less value than his; this edition, how­ever, contains a copious and useful collection of annotations by P Petit and DW Triller. The last and most useful edition is that by CG Kühn, Lips. 1828, 8vo., containing Wigan's text, Latin version, dissertations, etc., together with Petit's Commentary, Triller's Emendations, and Mait­taire's Index. An edition by Dr Ermerins of Middelburg in Zealand. (See his preface, p. viii., to Hippocr. De Vict. Rat. in Morb. Acut. Lugd. Bat. 1841.) Events 10 Downing Street becomes the official residence of the United Kingdoms Prime Minister when Robert Walpole moves in. ... Herman Boerhaave (December 31, 1668 - September 23, 1738) was a Dutch humanist and physician of European fame. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

The work has been translated into French, Italian, and German; there are also two English translations, one by J Moffat, Lond. 1785, 8vo., and the other by TF Reynolds, Lond. 1837, 8vo., neither of which contains the whole work. Further information respecting the medical opinions of Aretaeus may be found in:

• Le Clerc's Hist. de la Méd.
• Haller's Bibl. Medic. Pract. vol. i.
• Sprengel's Hist. de la Méd.
• Fabricius, Bibl. Gr. vol. iv. p. 70S, ed. Harless
• Isensee, Gesch. der Med.

See also Bostock, Hist. of Med., and Choulant's Handbuch der Bucherkunde fur die Aeltere Medicin, from which two works the pre­ceding article has been chiefly taken. Albrecht von Haller. ... Kurt Sprengel (August 3, 1766 - March 15, 1833) was a German botanist and physician. ... Johann Albert Fabricius (November 11, 1668 - April 30, 1736), was a German classical scholar and bibliographer. ...

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith (1867). The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology is a encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. ... Sir William Smith (1813 - 1893), English lexicographer, was born at Enfield in 1813 of Nonconformist parents. ...